Looking for Hope
by SlowScar
Summary: Charles had a secret. A secret that changed everything that day on Cuba. Now that the secret is out Charles' friends and family are doing everything they can and more to save their professor from a fate worse than death.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Fear_

It was the raw emotion everyone on that beach projected as a myriad of missiles targeting them was launched from the Soviet and American military fleets. Charles wasn't unaccustomed to fear. He had felt his share and above of that devastating emotion up to this point in his life. He was however inexperienced in dealing with the amount of raw emotional power that surged off the other mutants.

It felt like his mind was being assaulted. His breathing becoming increasingly irregular with every new wave of panic that hit him.

_Ohholymotherofgodmakeitstop_

_Idon'twannadiepleasedon'tkilluswedidnothingwrong_

_Helpussomeonethisisn'trightdon'tletusdie_

_Professoryou'vegottomakethemstop_

_Charlesstopthempleaseyou'vegottodothis_

Charles' knees was shaking and his mouth drying up. His powers were already unstable and attempting to interfere with so many moving objects could possibly ruin him or even make their current situation worse.

_How could I possibly make this worse? Everyone on this beach is going to die if I don't act soon!_

Charles raised two fingers and pressed them to his temple forcing himself to action. Long ago, before the CIA's mutant division was set up, Charles discovered that his powers was not limited to the realm of the mind.

At first he wasn't quite sure what was happening as objects around him suddenly grew a tendency to appear and disappear at random. It wasn't until the pocket watch he was looking for floated through thin air towards him that he realised his second ability. He had telekinesis.

Raven had been thrilled but Charles quickly noticed oddities in his newly awakened power. Sudden spurts of intense telepathic and psychokinetic energy happened in an alarmingly increasing amount and had a disposition to be harmful to objects or people standing in it's way.

The power he possessed was more than he had previously imagined, which should have exited him if it wasn't for the fact that the displays of indisputable lack of control was harming those around him. As a result of both fear and shame Charles decided to seal of the raw part of his power until he had the time and energy to master his true potential.

This meant no more telekinesis. Not until now.

As Charles felt that coin tear through Shaw's brain tissue his own mind went into overdrive. The terror. The slow torture. The nausea. The repulsion. The- oh god _the pain_.

Something broke inside of him.

Charles could feel it. His powers were restless and growing more and more unstable. The way the minds of the mutants, his friends, were affecting him with a force tenfold of what it used to be was proof enough. Their pain, worry, panic and horror making him want nothing more than to curl up and shut them all out.

But he would not resign to be weak.

Not now.

Not when his friends, his family counted on him.

But as Charles searched for the missiles with his mind that numbing feeling grabbed a hold of his spine.

_Fear._

_What if he failed?_

He could not do it.

Attempting to move a tea tray only to have it explode within five seconds of grasping it with his mind was one thing. Attempting to stop numerous of moving missiles and not have them harm anyone standing on this beach was a different, more delicate subject.

He-.. He couldn't do it.

Charles let his hand fall to his side and opened his eyes to stare straight into the inevitable death coming for him and his mutant friends, his family, his reason for existence.

-1851221135-

A small smile graced his lips as Charles tried to regain control over his heartbeats.

Of course Erik wouldn't let them die.

The man had recently pulled a massive submarine from the ocean. God bless him for still having the strength to stop all those missiles.

Pride swelled inside of him and Charles reached out with his own mind for that of his friend to tell Erik how amazing Charles thought he was.

Silence.

Realization.

Shaw's helmet.

_Not trusted._

Charles' smile died on his lips and his chest tightened as a movement caught his eyes.

The missiles were changing direction.

"Erik..." his voice weak and lacking in the confidence it used to have when speaking to his friend, "You said it yourself – We are the better men."

Still changing direction.

"This is the time to prove it."

New position locked. Ready to fire back towards all those people who were just doing their job. Yes, maybe not the most valid of arguments but Charles understood their confusion. He could feel it ever so faintly over the distance.

_Confusion. Fear. Surprise. Awe. Remorse. Contempt. Guilt._

The emotions of the people on board was wide and conflicted, confirming to Charles that the decision to fire was taken too quickly and didn't go well with everyone on duty.

He had to stop Erik.

"There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men. They're just following orders."

Cold, mind-numbing silence.

_Oh no-_

Charles could see what Erik was thinking from watching the emotions flash across the other man's face and he knew the words Erik was going to say before he voiced them.

"I've been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again."

A flick of his hand and Erik sealed all those people's fate.

"Erik release them!"

No response.

_Panic._

This can't be happening.

All those people. Their fear, their pain, it was all becoming too much for the telepath as he charged onto his friend to stop him from doing something reckless.

Unnecessary deaths, unjustified fear, unlimited pain. It had to stop. It had to stop now. If Charles only could get his hands on that helmet. He never wanted to take hold of Erik's mind, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. If that was what it took for Erik to realize that he could not revenge one death with another then so be it.

Charles was so engorged in his quest to stop his best-friend, his partner and someone he had seen as family that he almost missed the quiet 'I don't want to hurt you, don't make me'. The elbow to his temple on the other hand was something he wished had missed.

Faintly Charles could sense a weight straddling him, keeping him locked in place but the pain to his head was breaking him. His mental barriers was collapsing, his powers expanding and getting more and more out of control.

If he only had the time to get them in place.

But time was something he most definitely didn't have.

Charles reached towards the helmet again. A little bit more, if he only could reach a little bit further he'd be able to save them. Most importantly - he'd be able to save Erik.

"Erik! Stop!" His voice cracked with heart-ache and despair. Charles didn't know where his strength came from any more. The suffocating weight of Erik straddling him and the constant ringing in his ears was driving him insane. He needed silence from all this madness to be able to complete his task – to be able to save them all.

As if to answer his unvoiced prayer a clenched fist collided with his head and made everything quiet.

_Darkness._

Warm blood seeping from his head and sticking to his sweat soaked hair.

The last mental strength Charles had left gave up and the barriers he had put in place months before started to crumble .His world turning into a blurry mess and spinning colours.

_Finally._

A gun went off somewhere in the distance and the weight keeping him down was lifted. Charles rolled over to his stomach and tried to put his weight on his elbows and knees as a long since forgotten convulsion ran through his body, making him spit out a mouthful of blood and saliva on the sand underneath him.

As Charles' world started to settle he raised his head to watch the missiles still heading straight for the two fleets by the embargo line.

He still had time.

But it was short.

In the corner of his eyes he could see Moria keeping Erik occupied. This was his chance.

Crawling on all fours Charles made his way to the water. By some supernatural miracle or as an effect of his newly released powers Charles managed to force himself up on two feet.

He heard screaming behind him but didn't dare look back as whatever was happening most probably would keep him from doing the right thing.

Charles raised his fingers and pressed them against his temple.

_Yes. Set me free Charles, let me help you._

And Charles did.

He erased all trace of his previous mental barriers and quickly searched for the part of his brain where his power was being stored. Charles had barely touched it before every ounce of power he had locked up inside of him was pouring out in waves. The missiles were easily located and an uncharacteristic vile smirk dressed Charles' handsome features.

_Free._

His otherwise blue eyes were turning dark and a twisted shadow covered his face. The water he once stood in was now evading his legs and smaller objects close to him was shaking as his power engulfed them.

Breathing in air as if for the first time Charles heard nothing but his own heartbeat and that sickening voice in his head.

_Free._

With a cold chuckle he released a strong wave of raw psychokinetic energy that reached the missiles within seconds and obliterated them even faster. Charles viewed the destruction he had caused with eyes darker than hell itself and a satisfied grin.

The explosions, the fire, the smoke.

_Beautiful._

Never before had he felt this pleased with his own ability. The power still flowed through him. He could feel it in every fibre of his body. And _god_ did it feel good.

Not only did the fact that he had just used his telekinesis and not messed anything up make him feel better, but his psychic ability too. It had grown as that first wave of power exploded from him and he could sense it wrap as a blanket around all the mutants close to him.

Well.

All but one.

_Erik._

Erik still wore that helmet. He still didn't trust him enough to remove it. Charles lowered his gaze from the two unharmed fleets and found himself watching his hands clench into fists before him.

_Not trusted._

But things had changed now, right? He had stopped the war, or at least postponed it, and they could have peace. He had a power unlike before. This could prove how great he was. That they didn't need to worry about the humans any more. Would Erik listen to him? Charles frowned and felt his heart clench at the thought of his friend dismissing him like before. But if that was the case he could just as easily use his power to make that helmet float right off Erik's head and then show him, right?

_What?_

Charles staggered back in shock. What was he thinking? He couldn't- wouldn't do that. Not to anybody and especially not to Erik.

_No, no, no. We can do this. We can show them, all of them, just how strong we are!_

There was something wrong. He shouldn't have dropped the barriers that quick. Yes he had saved all those people but what was going on inside of him? Why did it feel like his mind was tainted and how come he didn't feel secure in his own head?

_Charles don't-_

He had to lock up his powers again. Until he had everything figured out.

_NO!_

Flames erupted inside his head and a pain he had never endured before ripped through his mind. Charles gripped his head in agony and barely felt it when his body made impact with the beach beneath him.

The only thing that he could think of was the fire scorching him to insanity from within.

_You are NOT locking me up again!_

Another eruption of flames made Charles arch of the ground in pain.

_YOU HEAR ME? NOT AGAIN!_

As pushed further by an ungodly roar that echoed inside of his mind the flames became more intense. It felt like his mind was being ravaged from within and there was no escape. The fire was everywhere. It tore at his brain, ferociously slicing and cutting him in pieces, and he could sense it clawing right through his skull.

Every shot of pain, every new wave of torture, ripped holes in his control and sent his mutant powers bursting out in the open.

_Please make it stop._

His throat was dry from screaming and from his eyes closed shut in pain a never-ending stream of tears made their way down his face. Any attempt at sealing off some of his power resulted in a growth of intensity of his torture.

_This isn't going to stop. I'm free now Charles, and I intend to stay that way._

Charles felt his toes curl as his body tensed up in a particular savage convulsion. He screamed until his lungs gave out. His body was trembling with distress and he was so tired of clenching every muscle in his body to withstand the torture he was being subjected to.

Each second that passed was a second closer to letting his power tear through his skin and destroy ever last molecule of him. Urged by a sudden serene presence Charles did the only thing he could to numb his pain. As the world around him turned dark one phrase, imaginary or otherwise, kept repeating itself in his head.

"Calm your mind Charles!"


	2. Alive and all but Well

Chapter One: Alive and all but Well

It was nineteen hours since they left Cuba and returned to the mansion. Sixteen hours since Azazel, Angel and Riptide disappeared after a verbal lash-out by Alex. Fourteen hours since they made Hank's laboratory into a makeshift hospital room. Twelve hours since Moria locked herself into her own room after fighting with Erik. Eight hours since Raven broke down crying and was ushered away to her room to get some rest. Seven hours since Sean fell asleep in the living room clutching a wet pillow close to his chest. Five hours since Charles momentarily gained consciousness and started tearing the room apart before being put to sleep by Hank. Three hours since Alex finally gave in to his lack of sleep. Two hours since a pacing Erik was thrown out from the room by an agitated Hank. One hour since Erik had broken two doors and a toaster.

A lot of time had passed since what had happened on that beach yet everyone was still worried about Charles. So when Hank finally closed the slightly broken laboratory door behind him he was bombarded with questions.

"What happened to the professor?"

"Is he all right?"

"Can I see him?"

"Will he wake up soon?"

"What did you do with him?"

"Is he hurt?"

"Will he-"

Hank let out a loud and irritated growl to quiet down the people surrounding him. One of his blue hands removed his glasses and the other pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I know that you are all very worried about the professor but please, I haven't eaten for almost a day and neither to my knowledge have any of you. Could you calm down a bit and let me at least get to the kitchen before I tell you everything?" Not so much the strain in his voice but the pain evident in his tired eyes made the company silently agree to Hank's demands.

It was a tense walk to the kitchen, no one trusting their voice enough to start up a conversation, even Hank felt relieved when they finally reached their destination. Everyone made their breakfast in silence, with the exception of Sean questioning the missing toaster and Erik not making anything for himself.

Barely had Hank taken the first bite out of his sandwich when Raven voiced the question that was occupying everybody's mind.

"How is he?"

"Fine."

"Hank. We deserve more than a one word reply, after all that has happened," Sean said from his place on the kitchen counter, all trace of his usual happy-go-lucky attitude gone from his voice, "please."

Hank sighed and put down his food. Unconsciously everybody leaned closer to the furry mutant as Hank recapped what he had found out from observing and running tests on the professor since their arrival back at the mansion.

-9131321185-

"So," Alex was the first to speak up after Hank had finished talking and devoured his breakfast within two seconds, "what you are saying is basically that Charles' powers suddenly increased and is now so unstable that it is better for him to be kept asleep?"

"Yes, that is a simplification but it's the general idea."

"Well, it's a bullshit idea!" Alex gestured wildly with his hands in anger, almost sending his glass of juice falling of the table to certain death. "I have an unstable power as well, why don't you just sedate me too?"

Hank scoffed.

"That's different. You have control, however limited, over your power. Charles have no control, his power controls him."

"That might be true, but how is that even possible?" Moria asked, voice thick with conflicted emotions.

"Exactly, and how was he able to do that trick with the missiles? I thought the professor's power was limited to brain magic only." Everybody turned their heads towards Sean at his use of the childish word 'magic' but he had a point. How did Charles stop those missiles?

Raven shifted in her seat.

"I think I can answer that question. Charles had a second ability."

Silence, then:

"WHAT?"

"What do you mean with 'had'?" Erik asked, for the first time stepping away from his place against the wall to get closer to the girl.

"Yeah well, a couple years back Charles found out that he had psychokinesis as-"

"What is 'psychokinesis'?" Asked Sean, cutting Raven off mid-sentence.

"It's when you move an object with your mind," Hank answered, "the most commonly used term would be telekinesis."

"As I was saying," Raven continued, slightly offended by the boys rude interruption, "Charles found out that he had telekinesis as a second mutant ability. For a while he experimented with it. Making books levitate to him and cooking us dinner without using his hands, those sort of things." Raven's face softened and a smile was tugging on her blue lips. Remembering those happier times together with Charles always made her heart swell with pride. Few people had a brother as kind and caring as she did. The knowledge that he was now lying all alone in a room in the other end of the mansion and she couldn't even tell him 'good morning' was the only thing keeping her smile from forming.

Looking up she suddenly remembered she wasn't alone and had to finish her story.

"Anyway, one day he simply stopped. He never told me why exactly, only said it was for the best."

The company fell into silence after that. Everyone contemplating what had been said about the man they thought they knew.

After a few quiet minutes Sean raised his voice again.

"So does that mean that Charles is stronger than Erik now?"

-411811125-

"That still doesn't answer the question though." Alex said, his irritation not as clear in his voice now as it was before. They had all re-located to the living room and Hank was still methodically answering all of their questions.

"Yes, the 'how is it possible for the professor's power to control him' question I presume." Hank closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, his lack of sleep showing but nobody commenting on it. He sighed. "I wish I knew, I really do. But I could not find anything in the tests that would explain why. I don't know anything more about the situation than you do, only what Charles told me when he woke up."

Sean, Moria and Raven gasped.

"He woke up?"

"Yes." Erik answered, all the attention drawn to him for the time being. "He woke up a couple hours ago. But barely had he opened his eyes before Beast put him under again."

Hank growled at the anger in Erik's voice that was clearly directed at him.

"He was tearing down the room, Erik. What would you rather preferred I had done?"

"We could have asked him about what was happening!"

"His powers were unstable. They could have hurt someone!"

"Bullshit. Charles wouldn't do that!"

The tension in the room was building and Sean was the first to try and break up their fight.

"Hey you guys, stop it."

But he was of course ignored by the two.

"No, maybe not but his powers would."

"We can't know for sure. We should have let him speak."

"Oh so now you want to listen to what Charles has to say, huh?"

Next up was Alex, also catching on to where this was leading.

"Hank, don't go there man-"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It is supposed to mean that you didn't seem very concerned about what Charles had to say back on that beach at Cuba."

"That's enough!" Raven exclaimed placing herself between the two to keep them from shouting abuse at each other. Erik looked momentarily stunned by Hank's comment but after regaining his composure he opened his mouth. "That includes you Erik!"

Reluctantly Erik shut his mouth and pressed his lips to a thin line, eyes still ablaze with anger.

"What I don't understand," Moria began, clearing up some of the tension in the room with her soft voice, "is that if Charles barely woke up how could he have told you anything?"

Hank struggled to calm down but finally unclenched his hands and locked eyes with the brunette.

"Yes, well, he woke up a second time."

"What? But I thought you sedated him the first time?" Alex said with confusion written all over his face. He distinctly remembered being there in the room when Charles' power was making everything in the room shake. Monitors were flickering on and off, a pair of light bulbs in the ceiling exploding and maybe it was only a hallucination, Alex had been rather tired when it happened, but he could have sworn he saw the professor levitate from his place on the improvised bed. Hank had been quick to realize what was wrong and grabbed an injection filled with some clear liquid that he shoot into the professor's bloodstream.

"I did. But apparently Charles wasn't sedated heavily enough. Right after I kicked out Erik from the room Charles spoke to me in my head."

Sean leaned closer from his place on the carpet.

"What did he say?"

Alex let out a frustrated sigh and threw a pillow at the ginger.

"He's getting there stupid, now quit interrupting."

Hank shot the blonde boy a look that said 'thank you' before continuing.

"Charles seemed stressed, his voice quick and strained in my mind, as he explained what was happening. Apparently for all these years he has been keeping a big part of his power locked away behind mental barriers to keep them from overpowering him. At the beach he decided to drop his already weakened mental defence to save the humans." Hank gave a quick glance to Erik who shifted in his seat. "Afterwards Charles was too weak to put the barriers up again and to keep us safe he put himself in a state best described as coma."

The living room was quiet. Even the wind that had previously howled outside had subsided, leaving the company in a thicker silence than before.

"The professor did all of that, just to keep us safe?" Sean had to ask. His eyes looked like two great blue pools of emotions, mostly fear at the thought of Charles putting himself through something like that for their sake, but there was something else there too that Hank couldn't name but knew by heart.

"Looks like it."

"So, what? Are we supposed to just let him lie down there until he gets better?" Alex asked, disbelief in his voice. They couldn't leave him to fight this on his own. Whatever it took Alex wanted to help the man that had been there for him.

"No. Charles can't get better on his own." Hank's voice wavered a bit, like he wasn't sure how to properly explain it to them.

"How will we be able to help then?"

"We have got to find another telepath."


	3. The Plan

_A/N: *phew* finally done with this chapter. I do apologise for the wait and thank you all so much for reviewing, you are the reason I bothered to finish before school starts. there's a lot of nothing in this chapter, which might be why it was so hard for me to write, but it's vital information building up to the following chapters. next chapter will focus more on Charles and his subconscious, until then, enjoy._

Chapter Two: The Plan

"Another telepath?" Sean was the first to break the silence that had followed Hank's suggestion. The red head was seated on the floor to Hank's right and hugging the pillow Alex had recently thrown at him. "You mean another mutant, like that Emma Frost?"

"Yes. Someone like miss Frost would do."

"How would a telepath be able to help the professor?"

"According to Charles he was having trouble at re-building the barriers while being locked up in his subconscious. It sounded like his only option inside is to put the barriers behind him which would result in some sort of self induced coma."

"Well, that's not an option!" Raven cried out, panic in her voice.

The thought of Charles never waking up. Never standing beside her and kiss her cheek.

It scared her to death.

Hank nodded.

"I told the professor that. Charles said if that was the case then there was only one thing we could do. Find another telepath and have him put up the barriers instead."

"But wouldn't that have the same outcome, with Charles being stuck in his own head?"

"No. Another telepath would be able to differentiate between Charles' conscious and his unstable power. In theory the telepath would be able to help build up the barriers to the point where it should be safe for Charles to wake up and finish the job himself."

"In _theory_?" Erik was sceptic. "You mean you are not sure?"

Hank rubbed his eyes, too tired to get into another fight with the metal bender.

"Of course I'm having my doubts. It's not like this has ever been done before. Even Charles seemed unsure when he spoke of it."

"If Charles is doubting this too then why are we considering it?"

"Would you prefer the first option?"

That comment made Erik shut his mouth. He wanted many things but Charles absence was not one of them. In fact this whole situation was making him sick with feelings he thought he had suppressed throughout the years. Fear. Pain. Worry. _Guilt_.

"Fine. Well I am not trusting Emma Frost anywhere near Charles. I've seen her in action and the damage she can cause with her telepathic ability. Don't try and fool yourself into thinking that she wouldn't exploit this situation if the opportunity presented itself."

Hank, satisfied with that answer, nodded gravely in agreement.

"I don't think it's wise to let her near Charles either."

"So, if we can't use Frost, where will we find a telepath? They don't exactly grow on trees, do they?" Alex snorted. Sean's sense of humour was far from appropriate considering the seriousness of the topic but at least he tried to lift their spirits and Alex couldn't blame him for trying.

Besides, he was right.

Where could they hope to find a telepath?

"No, they don't, Sean, but thanks to the professor we have a clue." Hank fumbled with his pocket for a second before presenting a folded paper. He unfolded it with surprisingly delicate fingers in spite of his claws. Raven, who had been peering over his shoulder, instantly understood what it was.

"That's the coordinates to the mutants that Charles found using Cerebro!"

"Precisely. Charles said that the telepath we needed to find had his coordinates on this paper." Hank smiled and gripped the paper more tightly as if it in itself was the cure to Charles' problem. Sean quickly threw himself on the couch to get a better view.

"Dude, that's got to be at least sixty different locations. What do all these colours and markings mean?"

"I had some time so I checked most of them up already. There are ten or so in this state and thirty in the states closest to us. I still need time to check the rest of them but we should be able to start the search by tomorrow."

"Wha- wait, what? You mean you don't know which one of these coordinates that leads to the telepath?"

Hank's smile fell and he refused to lift his gaze from the paper before him.

"No. Charles didn't have time to tell me before..." He paused, brows furrowed while searching for the words to phrase it properly, "before his power started to claw it's way out again."

Raven placed a hand on Hank's tense shoulder and squeezed.

_Reassurance_.

"We'll find the telepath. You've already done more than enough Hank."

The following hour was spent planning their next move. Hank, close to passing out from lack of sleep, was sent to his room after it was decided that he should stay put in the mansion to monitor Charles.

Sean and Alex formed one team, Raven and Erik another. At first Moira was determined to join them in the search but after some rough persuasion from Erik ("I don't want you to jeopardize these mutants and their identities, a human shouldn't be there to tell them about what they are and what they can do.") and some more refined argumentation from Raven ("It would be safer for you to stay here. We don't know these mutants or how they would feel to help Charles. If they get aggressive we can't guarantee your safety.") Moira decided to stay in the mansion and help Hank.

Locating the mutants proved to be far more difficult than anticipated without Charles by their side. From the ten coordinates that shared the same state as them four led to crowded places where they may spend days and still not find any mutant and two proved to be dead-ends. After two weeks they had met a boy with eight eyes and one who looked like a frog, a girl who spoke to trees and a girl who could levitate.

But no telepath.

Hank started narrowing down the remaining coordinates to states close to home. With the help of one or two phone calls thirty spots turned into eight. It was decided that sending Alex and Sean off on their own to a different state was reckless. Moira argued that they were too young and inexperienced. Alex had no way of demonstrating his powers close to humans and Sean had hit a police car with his shrieking once.

Erik and Raven was scheduled to take a flight to North Carolina the next day and the atmosphere in the mansion was growing thicker.

Moira and Erik avoided each other like the plague and if they ever met in a hallway they would fire away their arsenal of snarky comments and snappy comebacks. Sean and Alex was getting more and more irritable by the day and spent most of their time in each others company, rarely speaking but mainly keeping themselves away from the others.

The aftermath of what happened in Cuba had been put on hold since everyone agreed that saving Charles was their top priority, but that didn't stop the thoughts from forming and emotions from conflicting.

Erik knew that Charles would not approve of their lack of talking if he was conscious. He would have wanted Erik to help mend the broken friends back together. But Erik could not find it in him to take responsibility when the wounds of Shaw was still open. All his life Erik had learnt to survive by staying alone and not forming connections with people for an extended period of time. Even the earlier months spent together with these fellow mutants Erik had distanced himself, because that was the only way he could still be comfortable preparing for the inevitable.

Shaw's death and Erik leaving.

Fulfilling his purpose and desperately craving another reason for existence was what lead him to act as he did. Humans are ignorant and murderous, proof of this is how Charles had managed to help stop a nuclear disaster, if not a possible third world war, and the humans rewarded that with the threat of massacring him and all the mutants around him. Erik was no telepath. He could not close his eyes for the darkness of a man's actions. The mere thought that these proud mutants who fought valiantly, placing their lives at risk for the sake of a planet they shared with humans, would be killed because some human decided they were too different to be allowed to live... Let's just say Erik saw red.

He was willing to throw everything he had away, to declare war on humans for the sake and well-being of mutants everywhere. It wasn't until he was tackled to the ground by someone much more to him than a friend that Erik realized exactly what it was he was throwing away.

Trust. Loyalty. Home. A future.

And for what?

A life urging another war and spreading hatred, fear and resentment? A part of Erik knew that this was the only thing he was accustomed to. This was the life he had lived and prepared for. Never had he thought that something so mundane as chess would appeal to him.

His mind was in uproar and this time he did not have Charles' soothing voice to guide him out from his darkness. This time around it was Erik's turn to save Charles. Whenever he and Raven returned from scouting another pair of coordinates Erik's feet would make a beeline to the room Charles' was kept in. It hurt too much to talk or touch him so Erik would sit by the bed and observe Hank. They rarely spoke to one another, Hank ignoring him and Erik never being in the mood to talk at all, but the hard edge in Hank's eyes would soften as he left the room to sleep late at night and still find Erik by Charles' bed.

He never commented on this of course. Erik would be gone the next morning, feverishly searching for the telepath that would make everything all right again.

This morning was no different. Erik and Raven left around five am, Hank happened to meet them in the hallway on his way to the bathroom.

"Take care of my brother will you, and if anything happens, anything at all, make sure to call me at once." Raven had said, hugging him tightly, and Hank had smiled meekly and promised to do his utmost. "Yeah, you'd better or I'll kick your ass when we get back."

Erik gave Hank a nod, his face stoic as ever, and placed a hand on Raven's back, urging them past and out the door. With a cloud of dust they were gone and Hank continued on his way, unaware of the chaos that would erupt later that very same day.


End file.
